UK: Airbnb has revealed proposals for planning regulations and a registration system across the UK.
The submissions were announced as Airbnb begins a six-month UK roadshow to gather feedback.
They include backing for a free online landlord registration system in some communities, extending planning requirements to those hosting more than 140 nights a year and support for a tourism levy.
Patrick Robinson, director of public policy for Airbnb, said: “We want to be good partners to cities and work together on a host registration system that is easy to follow, gives authorities the information they need to regulate home-sharing effectively, and that ultimately makes communities stronger. Airbnb has long led the way on home-sharing rules in London and we want to extend that collaboration, based on our experience of working with more than 500 governments across the world. We hope that other industry players will join us in this important work.”
Airbnb said the registration system could be centrally or statutorily managed and enforced by local authorities. Short-term let operators would provide information on their property to their local authority through the registration system if they meet the agreed criteria.
Airbnb’s tour of UK cities begins in Edinburgh on Thursday and will include meetings with policymakers, city leaders and local hosts to hear proposals for a registration system. It will also visit Glasgow, Bristol, Bath, Manchester, Brighton and Cornwall and more. Airbnb will collate its findings for short-term lets in a white paper that it will present to Government and other key stakeholders in 2020.
